This invention relates to a cooked cereal germ having an enhanced masa flavor and a process for making the cooked masa flavored cereal germ. More particularly, this invention relates to cooked corn germ which has been cooked with water and an alkaline agent to provide an alkaline cooked cereal germ with an enhanced or robust masa flavor.
For the preparation of refined foods, cereal grain is usually subjected to milling processes. In these processes, the germ, which is rich in minerals and vitamins, is separated from the bran and endosperm of the cereal. Refined mill products, such as flaking grits and masa flour, consist chiefly of the endosperm. Portions of the corn kernel removed from the endosperm, such as the germ, are considered to be low value by-products which are often put into animal feed. The invention described herein enhances the value of cereal germ by making the germ useful in making masa flavored food products for human consumption.
Further, masa flavored food products are gaining in popularity. Most or practically all of these products are masa flour (corn flour) based. As a result it would be advantageous to impart a masa flavor to traditionally non-masa food products such as wheat flour bread, wheat flour tortillas, wheat flour pizza crust, wheat flour muffins, wheat based breakfast cereals, cakes, cookies, crackers, corn dogs, pretzels and fillings for tacos, tamales and tortillas. Using masa flour directly in non-masa based products such as wheat flour products, however, will change the structure of the food because relatively large amounts of masa flour would be needed to impart a masa flavor. With a masa flavor enhancer, however, a masa flavor can be imparted to a food product without changing the structure of the food because small amounts of a flavor enhancer can be used to impart a masa flavor. This can reduce development costs of producing non-masa flour products which have a masa taste.
Botanically, a maize kernel is known as a caryopsis, a dry, one-seeded, nutlike berry in which the fruit coat and the seed are fused to form a single grain. Mature kernels are composed of four major parts: pericarp (hull or bran), germ (embryo), endosperm and tip cap.
An average composition of whole maize, and its fractions, on a moisture-free (dry) basis is as follows:
Germ: The scutellum and the embryonic axis are the two major parts of the germ. The scutellum makes up 90% of the germ, and stores nutrients mobilized during germination. During this transformation, the embryonic axis grows into a seedling. The germ is characterized by its high fatty oil content. It is also rich in crude proteins, sugars, and ash constituents. The scutellum contains oil-rich parenchyma cells which have pitted cell walls. Of the sugars present in the germ, about 67% is glucose.
Endosperm: The endosperm contains the starch, and is lower in protein content than the germ and the bran. It is also low in crude fat and ash constituents.
Pericarp: The maize kernel is covered by a water-impermeable cuticle. The pericarp (hull or bran) is the mature ovary wall which is beneath the cuticle, and comprises all the outer cell layers down to the seed coat. It is high in non-starch-polysaccarides, such as cellulose and pentosans. A pentosan is a complex carbohydrate present in many plant tissues, particularly brans, characterized by hydrolysis to give five-carbon-atom monosaccharides (pentoses). It is any member of a group of pentose polysaccharides having the formula (C5H8O4)n found in various foods and plant juices. Because of its high fiber content, the pericarp is tough.
Tip cap: The tip cap, where the kernel is joined to the cob, is a continuation of the pericarp, and is usually present during shelling. It contains a loose and spongy parenchyma.
In milling corn to obtain grits and flour, the corn is first cleaned, and is then usually passed through a scourer to remove the tip from the germ end of the kernel. The corn is then tempered by the addition of water to a moisture content which is generally from about 21% to about 24%. The corn is frequently then passed through a corn degerminator, which frees the bran and germ, and breaks the endosperm into two or more pieces. The stock from the degerminator is generally dried to about 14% to 16% moisture in revolving dryers equipped with steam coils, and is then cooled in revolving or gravity-type coolers. The stock is next passed through a hominy separator, which first separates the fine particles, and then grades and polishes the larger fragments into four sizes. The various grades of broken corn are passed through centrifugal-type aspirators to remove any loose bran from the endosperm fragments, and produce milled cereal by-products such as aspirated bran.
Nixtamalization is the cooking of cereal grain, such as whole corn kernels, in a medium which usually contains an alkaline agent, such as water containing lime Ca(OH)2. Thereafter there is steeping (soaking) of the cereal grain for a period of time, for example, for about three to about fourteen hours, subsequent draining of any remaining cooking liquor, washing of the cereal grains, and grinding of the cereal grains to make with drying a cereal grain flour, which may be added with water to make a cereal grain dough from which tortillas and related products may be prepared.
The present invention provides a germ-based additive for enhancing masa flavor in food products produced from flour or dough which includes the additive. The invention also includes food products which include the additive in an amount effective for producing a masa flavor without the use of masa flour. In one aspect the food products include the additive to provide the masa taste and are substantially without masa flour. Hence, the additive of the invention makes it possible to add masa flavor to foods that are, for example wheat based, and allow the foods to retain their original organoleptic properties such as texture, mouthfeel and appearance. These properties would be lost if large amounts of masa flour is used to impart masa flavor. If a bread was made with a 50xe2x80x9450 blend of masa/wheat flour, the bread would not have the desired and typical aerated, spongy texture of wheat bread, but rather a coarse and heavy texture. If the additive of the invention is used, however, at a level of 10 weight percent, the resulting bread would be aerated, spongy and yet also have a much stronger masa flavor than the bread made with 50xe2x80x9450 masa flour and wheat flour.
The masa flavor enhancing additive is prepared through cooking cereal germ with water and an alkaline agent, such as lime, for a time and temperature which is effective for providing an alkaline cooked cereal germ with a masa flavor. An aspect of the invention includes drying the alkaline cooked cereal and milling the alkaline cooked cereal before or after drying to provide the alkaline cooked cereal germ with a particle size which is suitable for a desired food application.
In one aspect, the cereal germ used in preparing the masa flavor enhancing additive has a cereal grain germ content of at least about 25%, particularly at least about 50%, and more particularly at least about 90%, and up to about 100% thereof, by weight percentage. The cereal germ also contains not more than about 40 weight percent endosperm and not more than about 75 weight percent bran. In another aspect, the cereal starting material used in the preparation of the masa flavor enhancing additive has a relatively high protein content material, such as at least about 15% by weight protein content. The germ can be wheat germ, oat germ, barley germ, rice germ, rye germ, sorghum germ and mixtures thereof, but in one aspect of the invention the germ is corn germ.
In another aspect, the germ used in the invention, such as corn germ is tempered with the alkaline agent such as CaO, Ca(OH)2 and CaCO3 and then is cooked, such as with steam, for a time and temperature which is effective to provide an alkaline cooked cereal germ which has a masa flavor. Cooking is effective to deactivate lipases and lipoxygenases in amounts to effect the shelf life of the cooked germ and prevent rapid rancidity as well as impact a masa flavor by virtue of a reaction of the alkaline agent with the germ.
Drying of the alkaline cooked cereal germ grain includes heating the alkaline cooked cereal germ in a dryer, such as rotary dryer which may include heat exchange tubes. The moist cooked cereal germ contacts the heat exchange tubes, typically intermittently, during the drying procedure. The heat exchange tubes used for this purpose are heated by conducting steam or hot water through the tubes so that the outer surfaces of the tubes dry the alkaline cooked cereal germ as it contacts the tubes. This drying arrangement is superior to other alternatives, such as direct heat toasting, because it provides uniform heating without the need for strict monitoring and control to avoid scorching of the material being heated.
As can be appreciated, it surprisingly has been found that germ fractions derived from grain milling and the like, which previously were considered to be low value products, can be effectively used for making masa flavor enhancing agents and additives for food products suitable for human consumption, especially food products which are substantially without masa flour.
In one aspect, the masa flavor enhancing additive is mixed with masa flour and water in an amount effective to increase the masa flavor in a cooked food product made from the resulting dough including the additive as compared to a cooked food product made with the dough which includes germ, but is absent the additive of the invention. In another aspect the additive of the invention is mixed with a non-masa flour in amount effective to impart a masa flavor to the food product which is substantially without masa flour or without an amount of masa flour which would effect a masa taste. In either of these aspects, to impart a masa flavor enhancing effect to the cooked food products, the masa flavor enhancing additive generally is added to flour (which may or may not include masa flour) at a level of at least about 0.5 weight percent, and often in an amount ranging from about 0.5 to about 10.0 weight percent, based on their combined weight.
An effective amount of the masa flavor enhancing additive in this respect, for a given amount of flour and dough, can be easily determined in an empirical manner by straightforward taste/flavor/aroma testing by comparison to food products otherwise prepared the same way except without the additive. The masa flavor enhancing additive can be added in wet or dry form to either the flour or dough, or both.
The food products made by the method described above and which have an enhanced masa flavor using the masa flavor enhancing additive described herein may include cooked food products made with masa flour-containing doughs. These food products include tortillas, tortilla chips, corn chips, nachos, taco shells and the like. These food products generally may be prepared from the modified dough of the invention by generally known methods used for those purposes. The masa flavor enhancing agent does not adversely impact or impair the dough making and food preparation procedures. In addition, the additive imparts or increases (i.e., enhances) the authentic masa flavor in these products while permitting the food products to retain other flavors and other positive attributes of the food products. Additionally, food products that can include the masa flavor enhancing additive without masa flour and do not rely on masa flour for masa taste, include wheat flour based foods such as wheat flour bread, wheat flour tortillas, wheat flour pizza crust, wheat flour muffins, wheat based breakfast cereals, cakes, cookies, crackers, pretzels and other products such as fillings for tacos, tamales and tortillas.
Other advantages, benefits, utilities, and aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following descriptions of the invention.